President Troll

Imagine for a moment you don’t know who @realDonaldTrump is, and you’ve just stumbled across his Twitter.

Pretend he’s just a random guy. What would you think of that person? Really think about this. Would you think he was mentally unstable, spouting crackpot conspiracies? Would you think he was a bully for the vitriol he spits at seemingly random people? Would you think he was just another troll account?

Would you think he had an unhealthy fixation on celebrities? The media? Would you roll your eyes at the petty temper tantrums he throws? Would you wonder why this grown man, in his seventies, seemed to desperately crave approval from other Twitter followers?

Would you be appalled by the nasty comments he makes to disenfranchised people? Or the vulgarity he uses to describe women he dislikes? Would you find yourself asking what could possibly have happened to this man to make him sound so angry and hateful? Would you even pity him, just a little?

Would you feel a strong need to protect people he targets? What would you think of this man as you read his timeline? How would you feel?

Now imagine you do know Donald Trump, but he isn’t our president. Pretend he’s the Prime Minister of Canada. How would you feel then? What would you think then? Would you feel differently? Perhaps even more strongly? This is Canada, after all.

Would you think the people had lost their minds for electing such a guy? Would you be afraid their country was falling apart? Would you worry their instability would lead to wars? That they might try to bring the whole world down with them? How would you feel?

What if this man threatened to build a wall along your border? What if he belligerently claimed he would make your country pay for it? And what if the way he justified it was to call your people rapists and murderers? How would you feel? Would you be angry? Livid?

And what if he told your president he was going to bring the military into your country to deal with those rapists and murderers? Would it make you sick to have to listen to this man disparage your people day after day, week after week, month after month? Would you fear this man is threatening your sovereignty?

And what would you think about those average citizens who voted him into power?

Now imagine he’s the leader of a despotic regime. You can do that, right? His timeline certainly fits the bill. His rhetoric. If you didn’t know @realDonaldTrump and you came across his timeline, would you have any trouble believing he was a fascist leader? After all, he often threatens to bring in the feds, or pull funding, or publicly shame. He puts governments on notice. He threatens to break treaties going back fifty years. He boasts about the military power he commands. He threatens friendly leaders.

And all the while, he’s making insane choices. He puts an unqualified, hateful man in his security counsel. Steals from public coffers. He appears erratic, unstable. He has the attention span of a child. And worse, the reading comprehension of one. If you had just met this man, would you think he was intelligent? Would you believe he has a plan to bring prosperity to the world?

Donald Trump is illiterate. He’s impulsive. He’s destructive. He’s self-obsessed. He’s irrational. He’s unethical. He’s heartless. And he’s the fucking president of the United States of America. Perhaps its last president. Unless we look at him with fresh eyes and #resist.